But you can’t report about company B for company A while also an employee for company B. It’s Journalism 101, a class I took. I know famous corporate blogs and sites occasionally like to blur journalistic lines. This violation, if true, is clear.

Assuming Tim Cook didn’t appear apropos of nothing on Chris Ziegler’s doorstep the day his dual employment began, and nothing in what I’ve read so far indicates an immaculate hiring, The Verge should at least brand every article Chris wrote for the past 6 months as suspect. His motives aren’t known. We can only speculate when Mr. Ziegler entered into discussion and ultimately received the offer to join Apple.

Apple should dismiss Mr. Ziegler if the accusations are true. If he was duplicitous to The Verge management, co-workers, and readers it stands to reason he will be duplicitous to Apple as well. His ethics, at least, are questionable.

If someone I hired knowingly still worked in such a conflict of interest I would fire them for cause. I’d be curious to learn of environments where such action wouldn’t be the norm.

Again, I don’t know all the details or all the facts. If correct, the course for Apple and The Verge is clear.